Stable Oxygen and Carbon Isotopic Compositions of Lates stappersii Otoliths from Lake Tanganyika,East Africa

In this study, we measured growth trends in oxygen and carbon isotopic ratios in whole sagittal otoliths from three adult centropomid fish (Lates stappersii) from each of three sub-basins of Lake Tanganyika, East Africa. Sampling density was 20 to 50 samples per otolith. Both δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values increase with age. The δ¹⁸O data suggest that otoliths were precipitated near the expected equilibrium with the ambient environment (ca. +3.5‰) and support a migration pattern from surface waters during larval stages to deeper waters (40 to 80 m) for mature fish. Relatively high δ¹⁸O values in the southern sub-basin are consistent with cooler temperatures in the region during seasonal upwelling. The δ13C increase from otolith core to edge is large (up to 4‰) and is interpreted as due to ontogenetic changes in diet and contributions from a decrease in the proportion of respired CO₂ incorporated into otolith carbonate as metabolic rates of the fish dropped with maturity. The data seem to successfully reveal life strategy and migration patterns of L. stappersii, document regional differences in lake conditions, and provide a record of temperature within the water column during which the fish lived. Higher resolution studies and analyses of historical samples could be used to constrain modern and past growth patterns, and to reconstruct past temperature gradients and productivity patterns in the lake.     

Behavioral Phenotype of the Reeler Mutant Mouse: Effects of Reln Gene Dosage and Social Isolation.

Reeler (rl/rl) and reeler/wild-type (+/rl) mice synthesize Reln at subnormal rates, as do patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism, thereby forming the basis for a Reln hypothesis for vulnerability to these psychopathologies and justifying attention to the behavioral phenotypes of Reln-deficient mice. Tests of gait, emotionality, social aggression, spatial working memory, novel-object detection, fear conditioning, and sensorimotor reflex modulation revealed the behavioral phenotype of rl/rl, but not +/rl, mice to be different from that of wild-type (+/+) mice. These results reveal no effect of Reln gene dosage and provide significant challenges to both the Reln and the neurodevelopmental hypotheses of the etiology of major psychopathologies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Associative properties of perfluorooctyl end‐functionalized polystyrene–poly(ethylene oxide) diblock copolymers

The synthesis of 2,2,3,3‐tetrahydro‐perfluoroundecanoyl end‐functionalized polystyrene–poly(ethylene oxide) block (PS‐block‐PEO‐R_F) copolymers and their matching PS‐block‐PEO diblock copolymers was carried out by sequential anionic polymerization. Viscometry and ¹⁹F NMR studies show that the PS‐block‐PEO copolymers, in contrast to their matching PS‐block‐PEO‐R_F copolymers, exhibit a micellar rather than the associative behavior seen for the latter. However, the presence of an excess of fluorinated acid, used for end‐functionalization, produces a reduction of the associative behavior above the overlap concentration, with the fluorinated acid acting like a surfactant. A competition may also occur between PS—and R_F—mediated micellization. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Evolution granulométrique des sols sablo-argileux soumis à des compactages dynamique et statique

The compaction of a quartz sand by the modified Proctor test involves the production of fines produced by the breaking of the grains of the sand. This production of fines is measured by the grain size analysis before and after compaction. The adding of clay to the sand diminishes the evolution of the grain size. The process is proportional to the quantity of clay added to the sand. If the dynamic compaction of the Proctor test is substituted by the static compaction, one notes the same occurrences: static or dynamic compaction breaks the grains of sand and the clay added to the sand protects the grains from the breaking induced by the compaction stresses.     

Vasopressin and the transmission of paternal behavior across generations in mated, cross-fostered Peromyscus mice.

The role of arginine vasopressin (AVP) in the nongenomic transfer of paternal behavior from fathers to offspring was examined in Peromyscus. Male California mice (P. californicus) exposed to fewer retrievals by white-footed mouse (P. leucopus) foster parents displayed fewer retrievals of biological offspring. In contrast, white-footed mice were retrieved equally rarely by California mouse foster parents and by biological parents and displayed no changes in pup retrieval behavior. AVP-immunoreactive staining in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis may predict paternal behavior because it correlated positively with retrievals and with a score consisting of huddling, grooming, and time inside the nest. The authors discuss AVP as a possible mechanism by which early experience shapes adult paternal behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

News: Pressure mounts as particulate, ozone proposal deadline nears

Government.     

L'observation des processus de groupe: difficultés méthodologiques et perspectives.

Discusses problems involved in collecting data based on observation of small groups. The example of a study of manifestations of cooperation in groups of preschoolers (aged 21–57 mo) is used for illustration. Statistical treatment of observation data and global analysis of data are considered. (English abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When 3-year-olds pass the appearance–reality test.

68 3-yr-olds received a standard appearance–reality task along with either a trick task, in which the appearance question was placed in the context of a deceptive game, or a reduced information processing task, in which a dual object (e.g., a sponge-rock) was presented along with an object that matched the dual object's identity (a sponge) and one that matched the dual object's appearance (a rock). Children were more likely to pass either the trick or reduced information processing task and fail the standard than the reverse. Thus, 3-yr-olds can grasp the distinction between appearance and reality (a) when their goal is to trick someone, which may prime them to think about the other's mental state, and (b) when they do not need to hold conflicting object identities in mind at the same time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Frontolimbic Response to Negative Feedback in Clinical Depression.

Functional neuroimaging suggests that limbic regions of the medial frontal cortex may be abnormally active in individuals with depression. These regions, including the anterior cingulate cortex, are engaged in both action regulation, such as monitoring errors and conflict, and affect regulation, such as responding to pain. The authors examined whether clinically depressed subjects would show abnormal sensitivity of frontolimbic networks as they evaluated negative feedback. Depressed subjects and matched control subjects performed a video game in the laboratory as a 256-channel EEG was recorded. Speed of performance on each trial was graded with a feedback signal of A, C, or F. By 350 ms after the feedback signal, depressed subjects showed a larger medial frontal negativity for all feedback compared with control subjects with a particularly striking response to the F grade. This response was strongest for moderately depressed subjects and was attenuated for subjects who were more severely depressed. Localization analyses suggested that negative feedback engaged sources in the anterior cingulate and insular cortices. These results suggest that moderate depression may sensitize limbic networks to respond strongly to aversive events. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)